A man who was stabbed in an altercation outside the University of Windsor’s student pub last year received $8,000 in compensation for pain and suffering from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board Wednesday.

Ryan Newton, 24, was one of three men stabbed March 9 outside the Thirsty Scholar by Emad Adel Ben-Abdellah, who was sentenced to 8½ months in jail after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated assault in July.

In testifying before a two-member panel Wednesday, Newton was foggy on the details of the night. He admitted to smoking marijuana before going to the student campus bar around 10 p.m and consuming five drinks. He knew Ben-Abdellah from high school but wasn’t friends with him. Newton didn’t remember buying Ben-Addellah a drink.

He said he left the pub with a girl, exchanged words with two men and then was attacked by the men, who stomped on his head. He was also stabbed in the thigh and buttock but didn’t know who did it. He said he didn’t remember what the argument was about.

“All I remember is this girl helping me walk to my house and blood gushing from my leg,” Newton said. “She was pretty much dragging me.”

According to testimony Wednesday, Ben-Abdellah attacked Newton over a girl. Ben-Abdellah had approached a woman at the bar but she rebuffed his advances, Det. Robert DiLuca said. Newton was stabbed after he left the bar with the woman. He lost a pint of blood and was the most seriously injured of the three men stabbed. The other two victims were a student and an off-duty university employee.

The stabbings lasted 90 seconds and were caught on video, DiLuca said.

“In my estimation, Mr.Newton as an innocent victim,” DiLuca said. “There might have been an altercation but not to the level where he deserved to be stabbed.”

Newton admitted he is no stranger to a fight having gotten into at least five physical confrontations over the years. He was stabbed in the chest and suffered a collapsed lung at a Halloween party in 2008.

This fight turned out differently. Newton was hospitalized for five days and it gave him nightmares. He is now picky about what parties he attends. When he goes to social gatherings, he doesn’t mingle like he used to, he said.

He continues to suffer from leg pain and it’s caused him problems when he works on plumbing jobs. He has a sharp pain and dull ache when he crouches.

He wanted to go to physical therapy but couldn’t afford the $40 it cost for each visit. He moved to Alberta last year to make a go of it in Edmonton doing plumbing work.

Newton was also awarded $150 for lost wages and $1,200 toward physical therapy. When he left the hearing room, both adjudicators wished him well.

The stabbing incident was one of several problems plaguing the pub over the past few years. The university closed the bar after the stabbing and reopened the Thirsty Scholar as a restaurant. The eatery closed two weeks ago and will be replaced with the school’s relocated bookstore and a café.

The pub lost its licence for a week after being cited in 2011 for overcrowding and serving underage patrons.

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